Broadway spring surge fuels rising admissions

'Wicked' and 'The Lion King' top the list

Spring has clearly sprung on Broadway, with a rising tide of tourists helping to fuel a strong Week 46 (April 9-15) that saw every show in the top 10 break the $1 million mark.

The list includes “Newsies” ($1,024,517), the Disney Theatrical tuner that’s been posting sales so strong it seems increasingly likely the show will stick around beyond the end of its Aug. 19 limited run.

Musicals “Wicked” ($2,153,975) and “The Lion King” ($2,026,374) topped $2 million each, while “The Book of Mormon” ($1,603,396) broke a house record again, and Ricky Martin topliner “Evita” ($1,505,759) soared by more than $225,000 vs. the prior sesh. Tourist faves including “Mary Poppins” ($1,278,365), “The Phantom of the Opera” ($1,134,951) and “Mamma Mia!” ($1,005,002) also benefitted.

A couple of the season’s plays also felt the love, with “Death of a Salesman” ($856,960 for seven perfs) holding steady, and “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” ($836,504) jumping some $150,000 (21%), boosted by a cast of recognizable names including James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen and John Larroquette.

The overall Broadway cume climbed $1.7 million to $29.7 million for the 39 shows on the boards. Attendance rose more than 20,000 to 322,364.

The 24 musicals grossed $23,824,187 for 80.2% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 234,610 and an average paid admission of $101.55.

The 15 plays grossed $5,881,961 for 19.8% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 87,754 and an average paid admission of $67.03.